A/N: I'm sorry for the longer wait on this chapter. I've actually started working on my own series of manga comic strips and that took up the majority of my writing time. But here you all go! Thank you to all those who are still reviewing, and to all the followers. I love you all! Enjoy~
Hikaru POV
"Kyoya-sempai…?"
No movement. That's just great, waking the Low Blood Pressure Demon Lord from a deep slumber. This must be like the worst form of suicide I could ever dream of.
I hesitantly place a hand on his shoulder, giving a light shake. This time he turned his body away from the intruder, pulling Haruhi and himself further toward the wooden floor. I decided to take a different approach and tried tapping Haruhi's shoulder, even giving her hair a small tug. Her eyelashes fluttered before one doe eye presented itself to me, though still half lidded.
"Hikaru? What? Huh?" She sounded dazed, her brown orbs still glazed over from her slumber.
I knelt down in front of them as she didn't look like she was about to escape the Shadow King's vice like grip any time soon. I pointed a finger at Kyoya which her eyes followed lazily, still readjusting to the lack of light. It took a minute but she gave a half-hearted nod and began prodding him harshly in the side.
I thought I was about to have a heart attack. She must have gone crazy. That was the equivalent of prodding a shark with a long metal pole then throwing yourself in the water with an 'eat me' sign tied around your damn neck.
Awaiting the ominous aura to begin exuding from his very being, I cowered at the side of the desk with eyes squeezed shut to block out the terrifying sight that would undoubtedly present itself to us.
"Kyoyaaaaa-sempai, wake the hell up," Haruhi groaned out in desperation.
"Haruhi! Have you lost your freaking mind!?" My voice rang through the silence of the church; the high pitched echo could have carried for miles.
She ignored me as she took her assault on him even further. Her fingers threaded into his hair and pulled, and not all that gently if I might add.
"Haruhi Fujioka, would you like me to put you in debt for the rest of your life?" The low rumble of the Shadow King was hardly audible, but still struck fear in me. Haruhi however stared on completely indifferent.
"I have a hunch that that's already a reality," she shrugged before prodding him again, making him wince and smack away her hand.
"What the…?" I had expected to be engulfed in the flames of hell by now, or at least shrouded in the dangerous purple aura that we'd become so accustomed to. His steely eyes shot straight over to me, barely hiding unsuppressed rage behind the glare of his glasses that were dotted with drying raindrops.
"I suggest you make yourself useful and call Misuzu for a ride back to the pension, Hikaru. Or am I going to have to put my earlier threat into action now?" His voice was calm and eerie as he spoke, too calm in my opinion. I jumped to attention, giving a mock salute and scuttling away.
"Not a problem. Uh, excuse me!" I managed to stutter out as I ran for the church's grand wooden doors.
Haruhi POV
I watched as Hikaru scampered away in panic, almost running into several rows of pews along the way. Through the open entrance I could hear the muffled sound of rain battering off the ground in a violent display of nature. "It's still raining…"
Kyoya removed his glasses to wipe clean. "We've probably not been asleep very long."
"I just hope the thunder has passed," I moved closer to him once again, resting my head up against his still moist shoulder as he wrapped an arm loosely around me.
"If that's the case then I'll carry you back to the damn pension if I have to. I don't particularly fancy sleeping under a desk for the rest of the night." A small smirk made its way onto his face and I couldn't help stretching up and stealing a chaste kiss. But he decided that wasn't satisfactory enough and pulled me flush against him to keep my lips pressed upon his own.
"Misuzu is on his way over." We sprang apart as Hikaru's footsteps drew closer to us. "Shouldn't take long. Uh, are you two alright?"
"I've been asleep under a table, what do you think?" Kyoya's glasses flashed as he tilted his head to catch the small amount of light coming from the entrance. Hikaru was visibly shaking as he chuckled hesitantly and scratched the back of his neck.
We waited in silence; nobody daring enough to break it until Misuzu came bounding through the doorway with a variety of blankets folded up under his arms.
"Oh, you poor dears. You must be soaked to the bone. Time to get you back to Misuzu's now, chop chop!"
We didn't have to be told twice. I wrapped the smallest of the blankets around myself and scarpered out to the car, squeezing my eyes shut as I dashed out the door. I ran straight into Kaoru who was trying to hold the door open for me, almost knocking him right off his feet.
"Hey, it's alright. You can open your eyes."
"But…"
His arms loosely wrapped around me in an embrace. I opened my eyes to stare into concerned ambers. "See, that wasn't so hard."
"I thought you were sick."
"I'm thinking Hikaru needs me right now, sickness or not."
He bundled me into the car, followed by Hikaru then himself, allowing Kyoya to take the front passenger seat. Again, we sat in silence beside the odd babble from Misuzu as he tried to ease the tension. I pulled the blanket tighter around myself, shivering lightly as the breeze from the car window nipped against my moist skin. I was wishing that Kyoya had taken the backseat, so I had someone to keep me warm. But I was pleasantly surprised when Hikaru pulled his blanket from his shoulders and draped it over both of our legs and his arm made its way around my waist to pull me closer to his side. I could feel him shivering just as much as I had been and allowed myself to rest my head on his shoulder hesitantly.
I could see Kyoya's eyes burning holes in us from the rear view mirror, and I mouthed a short apology to him. His eyes traced the outline of my face then averted from us to stare out the car window without a word. I wasn't sure if I had truly irritated him or not, so I didn't let it lay heavy on my mind for very long.
The journey was short, pulling up in the driveway a few minutes later to see the other hosts waiting impatiently by the window. Before I had even exited the vehicle fully, I was being pulled out by Tamaki and swung in circles.
"Oh, my sweet little daughter! What did that shady hooligan do to you!? I should never have let you out of my sight. Why didn't you tell me you were afraid of storms? I would be there to protect you! That's what Daddy's are for!" I was sure I could feel warm fresh tears dripping onto my neck, giving me goose-bumps. His grip seemed to tighten with every question until I could hardly breathe out a response and break his ranting cycle.
"Sempai, you're crushing me," I choked. My face was most likely an odd shade of blue at that point. Mori reached over and swiped me out of his arms, dropping me at his side with a small ruffle of my damp hair.
"Are you alright?"
"I'll be fine, Mori-sempai. Thank you."
He replied with the smallest of smiles and another ruffle of my hair before I was bombarded by the senior resting on his shoulders.
"We were all worried about you, Haru-chan!" Honey's eyes were watering, much like Tamaki's, shimmering in the moonlight. He jumped down to glomp onto me in a tight hug, which I returned without hesitation. The scent of strawberries could faintly be made out from the mop of blonde hair buffeting against my face.
"I'm not sure about the rest of you, but I'm sure that Haruhi, Hikaru and I could all do with getting to bed right about now."
"Yeah, I'm beat. C'mon, Kaoru." The twins waved their goodbyes before ascending the stairs and disappearing around the corner.
"Are you sure you don't want me to stay with you, Haruhi? Daddy will keep you safe if the thunder comes back."
"No thanks, sempai. I think I'll just go straight to sleep."
"Well… if you're sure…"
"She's sure, you big dope. Now you better go before your ride takes off without you."
"Tama-chan! Hurry up, it's cold out here!" Honey waved to us all, tone demanding yet whining at the same time. Tamaki gave me one last awkward emotional embrace before taking off after Honey and Mori's car that was waiting outside the pension gate.
"We're lucky he even left. I was sure he was going to be stuck to me for the rest of the night."
"I'm more surprised he didn't pounce on Hikaru as soon as he exited the car."
"And I'm surprised you didn't do the same earlier."
"It's took a lot of will power, that I won't deny."
We took off up the stairs, coming to my room first as we paused outside the door. His hand ran up and down my arm as the other hand caressed my cheek, his thumbs rubbing gently against my chilled skin. "Are you alright?"
"I… I'll be alright."
"Promise?" One thin eyebrow rose as he stared down at me questioningly.
I reached up on my tip toes to press my lips against his, pulling away only millimetres to reply, "Promise."
He kissed me briefly once more before pulling away and taking off down the corridor to his room. I watched him turn the corner, leaving me alone outside my room fiddling with my room key. Eyes downcast, I stuck the key in the lock and let myself in, closing the door with a sigh. By now I should be used to getting through storms alone, I mean I had to do it whenever they passed at home with the hours my dad worked. But part of me just craved that small bit of attention and protection, perhaps then I would manage to get an undisturbed sleep tonight.
I began stripping off my damp clothing and dropped them unceremoniously on the floor. They could be dealt with at a later time; right then I just couldn't bring myself to care. I used the spare room towel to scrub at my head and remove the excess water that was still dripping down onto my neck and face.
A knock at the door interrupted my short routine, so I wrapped the small towel around myself in a small show of decency and cracked open the door. There stood Kyoya in his sweats with a pillow tucked under his arm. I moved aside so he could make his way in before someone saw and locked the door behind him.
"I'm assuming that's not your usual sleep attire."
"Clearly. Make yourself comfortable, I'll be back in a second." I raked through my drawers for a decent pair of pyjamas and pulled out a nightie then escaped to the bathroom to change. I pulled the garment over my head and dumped the towel by the shower. I emerged to find Kyoya lazing on my bed with one of my books propped up in one hand.
"I didn't think you would read this kind of stuff." He motioned towards the front cover that displayed an embracing couple dressed in Victorian clothing.
"I ran out of book much faster than I had expected and Misuzu let me borrow that one. I guess it's not too bad a read, but not my first pick." I settled down on the small mattress beside him, nuzzling my head into his chest to look over the pages he flipped through. Slowly but surely I felt myself drifting off to sleep, but tried to keep my eyes open and focus on the page in front of me. The next thing I was vaguely aware of was the lamp being switched off beside me and the blanket being pulled further up towards my chin before I feel into a deep sleep.
Kyoya POV
Although my eyes were skimming over the words on the page, they weren't registering properly in my mind. Occasionally I would glance down at the girl draped across the side of my chest, observing each time as her eyelids drooped more and more. Eventually I stopped even turning the page and just staring off into the dim light of the room, waiting for her to doze off properly so I could turn out the light and such without disturbing her.
As soon as her glazed eyes fluttered shut and her breathing evened out, I allowed myself to slide the book onto the bedside table and flicked off the lamp. Now shrouded in darkness, I pulled the blanket more comfortably over us, tucking it under her chin.
I could tell when I had originally said goodnight to her that she didn't want to be left alone. Her eyes practically screamed it, yet she didn't ask. So I took the ever so subtle hint and presented myself at her door, pillow in hand. I was glad to see the relief wash over her pale features, although I wish she had been wearing a little more clothing. Fighting the blush that so urgently wanted to stain my face was tough, but I pulled it off.
My eyes had adjusted to the darkness and my eyes gazed upon her face again. Her dainty lips were parted and her partially damp hair was still in disarray. I planted a small kiss on her cheek before settling my head down on the pillow and allowing sleep to wash over me.